Systems and Methods of Processing Information and Transactions Involving Digital Content, Digital Products and/or Experiences

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods described herein relate to processing of information, data and transactions involving content and/or experiences. According to one exemplary implementation, an illustrative method of computerized information processing may involve handling and/or processing data regarding a product, the product comprising an experience, a physical product, and/or a digital product.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) INFORMATION

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 14/190,034,filed Feb. 25, 2014, a continuation (bypass) of application No.PCT/US2013/052150, filed Jul. 25, 2013, and a continuation-in-part ofapplication Ser. No. 13/868,031, filed Apr. 22, 2013, published asUS2014/0032371A1, and claims benefit/priority of U.S. provisional patentapplication Nos. 61/675,790, 61/675,795, and 61/675,801, all filed Jul.25, 2012, which are incorporated herein by reference in entirety.

APPENDIX MATERIALS

Appendices, labeled “Appendix A”, and “Appendix B” are attached heretoand incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. This applicationalso includes and hereby incorporates by reference computer programappendix materials submitted herewith as another Appendix of relatedcode.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Implementations herein relate to systems and methods of processinginformation associated with networked systems including features andfunctionality related to allowing first users, such as celebrities andluminaries, to interact and process transactions with other users, suchas fans of the celebrities and luminaries.

2. Description of Related Information and Demand

Celebrities want to offer their work and/or content directly to theirfans without gatekeepers like networks, publishers, and record labels,and other middlemen standing in the way preventing them from doing so ortaking a large cut of their revenue they could realize from suchofferings. The few mundane options that exist have so many drawbacksthat they are typically not worth the time needed to employ them.

Fans that are passionate i.e. ‘power fan’ users are willing to pay forexclusive content and opportunities from the celebrities they idolize.Moreover, celebrities would like an easy and reputation-preserving wayto make money by selling content and experiences to fans, but there arecurrently many barriers to doing this in a meaningful and efficient way.The lack of a platform/marketplace to facilitate such transactionsresults in a great deal of pent-up supply and unfulfilled demand. Thereis a need for systems and methods that solve such problems, e.g., viaimplementations that involve features such as publicizing thisopportunity, registering and enrolling fans and users, collectingrevenue, offering access to digital content and other opportunitiesdirectly to the fans/users for a set price, for instance a monthlysubscription price, and/or delivering the content and opportunities onbehalf of the celebrity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the various implementations described inthis application, reference should be made to the Detailed Descriptionbelow, in conjunction with the following drawings in which likereference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the figures.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting an illustrative system andinteractions between components thereof, consistent with one or moreaspects related to the innovations herein.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting in greater detail an illustrativeexperience fulfillment system and interactions between componentsthereof, consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovationsherein.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart depicting an example customer background checkprocess consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovationsherein.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram depicting an illustrative process offulfillment architecture consistent with one or more aspects related tothe innovations herein.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of an example administrative graphical userinterface consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovationsherein.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram depicting interactions among the elements ofthe systems consistent with one or more aspects related to theinnovations herein.

FIG. 7 is another block diagram depicting further interactions among theelements of the systems consistent with one or more aspects related tothe innovations herein.

FIG. 8 is an example chart showing process flow of some of the systemelements consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovationsherein.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart depicting an example of order placementconsistent with one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.

FIG. 10 is an illustration of exemplary shopping cart/ordering pages,consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.

FIG. 11 is an illustration of exemplary checkout/shipping pages,consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.

FIG. 12 is an illustration of exemplary billing/purchasing pages,consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.

FIG. 13 is an illustration of further exemplary billing/purchasingpages, consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovationsherein.

FIG. 14 is an illustration of exemplary purchase finalization pages,consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.

FIG. 15 is an illustration of exemplary confirmation pages, consistentwith one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.

FIG. 16 is an illustration of an exemplary experience page, consistentwith one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.

FIG. 17 is an illustration of an exemplary landing page, consistent withone or more aspects related to the innovations herein.

FIG. 18 is an illustration of an exemplary landing page, to enable usersto harness the power of social media with the experience fulfillmentsystem, consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovationsherein.

FIG. 19 is an illustration of an exemplary social media site permissionspage, consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovationsherein.

FIG. 20 is an illustration of an exemplary landing page displayed whenthe user is logged in, consistent with one or more aspects related tothe innovations herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE IMPLEMENTATIONS

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary implementations,examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In thefollowing detailed description, numerous specific details are set forthin order to provide a sufficient understanding of the subject matterpresented herein. But it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill inthe art that the subject matter may be practiced without these specificdetails. Moreover, particular aspects described herein are provided byway of example and should not be used to limit the scope of theinvention to these particular implementations. In other instances,certain well-known data structures, timing protocols, softwareoperations, procedures, and components have not been described in detailso as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments of theinvention.

Celebrities want to offer their work and/or content directly to theirfans/users without gatekeepers such as third party networks, publishers,and record labels, and other middlemen standing in the way preventingthem from doing so or taking revenue they could realize from suchofferings. Accordingly, the present systems and methods allowcelebrities, via platform tools and computer network features andfunctionality as set forth herein, to offer access to digital contentand other opportunities directly to the fans/users for a set price, forinstance, a monthly subscription price.

“Celebrities” as referenced in this disclosure include, but are notlimited to, individuals who possess extraordinary ability in thesciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or who have ademonstrated record of extraordinary achievement in the motion pictureor television industry and have been recognized nationally orinternationally for those achievements. “Celebrities” as referenced inthis disclosure also include luminaries: people who are generallyaccomplished and marketable.

Implementations herein provide a technology platform and/or systems ormethods that may make the process for exclusive subscription baseddigital media content between a celebrity and a fan centralized withoutmiddlemen, according to some embodiments. This system provides a socialmiddleware and a data platform by reducing transactional friction andproviding transaction sharing, security, and privacy. It can alsoprovide personal verification for fans/users.

From a fan/user's perspective, there is currently a barrier between themand the person whom they admire. The fan/user often desires directinteraction with these celebrities but security concerns can keepcelebrities away from personal interactions and events that make thatviable. Currently, fans/users must work hard to find memorabiliaauctions or follow those they admire social media sites, but thefan/user must proactively search these out. Fans/users also useentertainment news, fan magazines and fan clubs, but, among otherthings, these channels of information are not personal, two-way, orunique. Fans/users may also attend live events to meet or experiencebeing near celebrities, for example, book signings, concerts,conventions, sporting events and charity fundraisers are among the mostpopular ways fans/users have an experience with their favoritecelebrities. However, all of these lack an element of uniqueness andexclusivity, which this system can facilitate.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting an illustrative system andinteractions between components thereof, consistent with one or moreaspects related to the innovations herein. Referring to FIG. 1, suchsystem may serve as a direct channel that automates the connectionbetween celebrities, their fans/users and/or other people or entitieswho want to offer them opportunities. In some implementations, it may beconfigured as a connection platform providing delivery andauthentication of premium content and unique experiences for fans/users.As mentioned above, celebrity time and attention is a commodity that isoften under-leveraged. Systems herein serve as a marketplace for thatcommodity. The site and platform need not necessarily eliminateintermediary parties (agent, manager, publicist, etc.), but they mayrender their job more efficient by enabling middlemen to evaluatecelebrity placements and focus on those considered more worthwhile. Acelebrity may employ agents in addition to the systems and methodsherein to maximize opportunities. Celebrities may also feel morecomfortable using this system, as opposed to existing social mediaplatforms, because it has cloaking tools that preserve their privacywhile ensuring authenticity for a fan.

Computer networks as well as associated computer components andprocessing may be leveraged to provide such communication ability anddirect exposure. The illustrative diagram of FIG. 1 shows an example ofsuch a network 100. For instance, an experience fulfillment internaldatabase 101 may be in communication with an experience fulfillmentsystem 200. The experience fulfillment system 200 may be configured incommunication with one or more external databases 102, a vendorfulfillment component 105, the Internet 104, and a front end socialnetworking site application interface 103 by way of the Internet 104.Other system configurations may be possible. For example, only aninternal database 101 or external database 102 may be provided, and/orthe network 100 components may communicate via connections other thanthe Internet 104.

The front end interface 105 is the forward facing interface forcustomers (typically, but not necessarily, fans). The vendor fulfillmentcomponent is the rear facing part of the system that connects withvendors (typically, but not necessarily, celebrities, public figures,their management, or other related personnel). Thus, the experiencefulfillment system 200 and experience fulfillment internal database 101allow the customers and the vendors to connect, both in an informationprocessing context and directly. The system enables physical or digitalexperiences or services to be scheduled, planned, occur, etc., withoutthird party complications or intervention. The system may be configuredto function with physical products/experiences and/or digitalproducts/experiences 108. I

In some implementations, vendors may upload experience-based productswhich appear on the front end interface 105. The customers may then findthe experiences and/or products on the front end interface 105 andpurchase these experiences and/or products. The experience fulfillmentsystem 200 may also generate information such as confirmation messagesto both the customers and vendors. The experience fulfillment system 200handles the financial aspects of the transactions and/or bankinteractions. Vendor and customer may optionally negotiate a schedulefor the experience as well as a location for the experience, be iteither digital or physical. Customers and vendors can check the statusof the experience deal by logging into the front end interface 105 or byreceiving status updates from the experience fulfillment system 200.

The experience fulfillment system 200 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 iscomprised of various components, which include but are not limited to aprocessor/circuit 201, social media UI module 210, experience module220, vendor UI module 230, checkout module 240, gift module 250,background check module, fulfillment module 270, digital subscriptionmodule 280, and front end UI module 290. These components may be used toperform the processes described below in greater detail.

According to the features shown in FIG. 1 and described elsewhereherein, the present systems and methods may be configured with variousinputs and outputs. For example, implementations may process informationreceived from components associated with entities such as customers,fans, users, studios, companies, potential partners, talent/celebritiesor their representatives. Other inputs and information processedtherefrom may include data from payment related components, dataregarding items for sale or auction, content coming in for submission,information associated with cloaking and/or security, and/orcommunications from anyone who wants access to the celebrity (e.g.,brands, producer, charity, fans/users, etc).

After processing and/or transformation via the systems and methodsherein, outputs as well as information or data regarding products andexperiences coming out of the system may include experiences in bothphysical and digital form, one or more interfaces for celebrities whichallow them to approve or decline transactions, personalized orcustomized content for fans/users, streaming services, and portals orcomponents for the creation of in-house content, among other things.

With respect to systems and methods herein configured as platform-typearrangements, implementations may include or involve a socialmiddleware, other data platform and/or related components. Here, forexample, such implementations may be configurable as a social middlewarethat combines social media and online commerce. For example, a systemmay be configured as a stand-alone platform that integrates with othersocial media platforms, including features of focus and personalizationkeyed to the specific interests of a user set forth in the social mediaplatform. Implementations may also be configured as a digital repositoryof opportunities for artists, athletes, and/or other notable figures,including features that assist these individuals in more fully utilizingtheir time and earning potential.

Further, connection between celebrities and the public may be configuredwith a cloaking service/technology that provides a measure of securityand privacy for the celebrities. Such cloaking components may allowcelebrities using the system to interact with fans/users via socialplatforms without having to reveal or compromise personal accounts orinformation. Systems herein may also serve as a trusted marketplaceplatform that lies between the celebrity and the fans/users.

The present system may also include a data platform that allows forinformation, online communication, and the exchange of opportunitiesbetween those using the platform, whether they be consumers,celebrities, charities, etc. Those opportunities may be syndicatedand/or archived on their behalf, creating an idea bank that isaccessible to multiple users.

As such, implementations are provided where platforms or marketplacesthat resolve unfulfilled demand are accomplished and/or wherecelebrities achieve a reputation-preserving way to make money by sellingcontent and experiences to fans/users. According to some embodiments,for example, systems and methods herein may resolve the underlyingdrawbacks via features of publicizing this opportunity over computernetworks, registering and enrolling fans/users, collecting payments,and/or processing or delivering the content, opportunities andexperiences on behalf of the celebrity.

Without the present systems and functionality, fans or users wouldtypically receive filtered content not from the celebrity themselves butfrom the people or entities that represent them. The content that issent out directly from a celebrity via their own social media accountsis usually sent to many sources at once and may lack an exclusivity thatmany fans crave. Also, agents and middlemen generally require a fee oftheir celebrity clients, whereas the present systems may fill gap in acelebrity's opportunity lineup without such middleman influences.

There are multiple illustrative scenarios wherein the platform may beused. Some of these include the promotion of events, charitablefundraisers, memorabilia sales, agents wanting to streamline thesubmission of opportunities to the celebrities they represent, andsituations where celebrities wish to have direct control overopportunities without the need for a middleman, among other things.

Artists, athletes, and luminaries are accomplished people with time andattention that isn't fully utilized. Fame is an intangible asset, butfame has a marketplace value when attached to the time, activities, andmemorabilia of a notable person. The systems and methods describedherein provide a central way to monetize a celebrity brand and aplatform for trading on their famous names for commerce other than viaHollywood-style agents and gatekeepers or other middlemen. The systemsand methods described herein are also configured to provide alternativeopportunities to celebrities than those that may be found by an agent ormiddlemen, who may be unable or unwilling to find every opportunitygiven their own workloads and commitments.

Furthermore, the systems and methods described herein can enablecelebrities to sidestep the issue wherein an agent usually earns apercentage of a client's paycheck, even when the client finds andnegotiates his or her own deals. Not every deal needs an agent and,sometimes, a fan might be a better source for certain types ofopportunities. For example, a corporate CEO who is obsessed withbaseball might want to invite star baseball players to appear at anevent, but an agent might dismiss the request as not being worth thetime. Yet, the retired player would have liked to take part in theopportunity.

Thus, this system can help celebrities or their representatives maximizesmaller and/or alternate opportunities for local celebrities, such aslocal sports stars or regional TV personalities, this may be asignificant method by which they can extend their income and connectwith fans/users.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart depicting an example customer background checkprocess consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovationsherein. This process may be performed by the processor circuit 201and/or background check module 260 of the system 200. Systems andmethods, here, may provide functionality that help monitor and maintainsecurity for celebrities. Such celebrities may spend a great deal ofmoney on physical security when they make personal appearances, but theycannot attend every event in person because not every event can bevetted. As such, these background/security implementations and tools mayprovide personalized interaction with fans/users while maintaining alayer of security and privacy.

Additionally, there may be a need for a fan to verify that an onlinecelebrity, or their piece of memorabilia, is authentic. Authenticationof items signed by notable people affects the value of the item, as wellas the reputation of all involved in its sale. Furthermore, there aresome challenges to the process of purchasing and consumingcelebrity-related content. Consumers have an expectation that they canpurchase content on-demand, however region-locking and release windowtechnologies may impede this process, even if consumers will buy contentlegally when available, but will resort to pirating if not legallyavailable.

Other example uses for this system may involve using Security APIs As acomponent of the system, such as implementations that includevideo/audio fingerprinting.

Further, systems and methods herein may involve various features relatedto security, according to some embodiments. For example, implementationsmay be configured to handle security problems in a multitude of ways,including watermarking, to ensure paywall integrity, and Digital RightsManagement (DRM). Such security may be useful for celebrities to protecttheir online content and identities.

Methods here may also involve verification of the various opportunities,according to some embodiments. Here, implementations may be configuredwith features to protect the reputation of the celebrity and/or theauthenticity of the good, service or offering, things that celebritiesmay be concerned about. Such system verification processes may ensurethat opportunities for celebrities are legitimate, and backed by whomthey assert they are backed. Functionality may also be provided toassure fans/users that the celebrity experience is authentic. Further,implementations may be configured with a ratings system for bothfans/users and celebrities, to help provide measures of assurance forpeople on the platform, according to some embodiments. Suchimplementations may even incorporate information from other social mediasites to make it more interactive.

Referring to the illustrative processing shown in FIG. 3,implementations here may first check to see if the products in thisorder require scheduling or a background check, at 302. If not,processing may proceed through steps 322 and 338, to the end 348, afterwhich the system continues at step 912 in FIG. 9.

If scheduling or a background check is needed and hasn't already beenaccomplished, then processing may be performed to reach out to thecustomer to collect background information, at 304. Such processing mayresult in the initiation of various communications, such as emails,phone calls, and/or other methods or functionality. Further illustrativeprocessing may be performed, at 306, if a response from the customer isnot received within a third pre determined time value, such as 7 daysfor example. Here, if the item ordered is a gift 308, thenimplementations may follow up with an email to the giftee, at 310, aswell as with an email to the buyer, at 312. Such communications may beoptional and may serve as additional prompts to get the informationneeded to fulfill the experience item. Turning back to the illustratedprocessing, implementations may wait up to a fourth predetermined timevalue, such as 7 days for example, for a response, at 314. If noresponse is received, attempts to contact the customer and/or giftee maybe escalated, at 316. Such escalation may include functionality in theform performing processing to initiate phone calls or othercommunications by a customer service/concierge component or individual.Again, implementations may wait a fifth predetermined time value setperiod such as 7 days for example, at 318, and, if a response is stillnot received, additional processing may be performed. For example,implementation may wait a sixth predetermined time value, such as 1 yearfor example, for a non-gift order 344/342, after which the order will becancelled, at 340. For a gifted order, implementations may wait aseventh pre determined time value, for example almost indefinitely, fora response, at 346. Functions associated with gift processing may beperformed by the processor circuit 201 and/or gift module 250 of thesystem 200.

If at any point in the process, a response is received from thecustomer, then the various information needed from the customer may becollected, at 320. If a background check is required, information may becollected from the customer, or from the giftee in case of a gift. Ifscheduling is required, information may be collected about thecustomer's or giftee's availability. Here, for example, implementationsmay be configured to collect at least 3 days and times that the customeris available. Once the needed information is collected from thecustomer, the system may access information regarding subsequentprocessing to be performed, at 322. For example, if scheduling isrequired 332, processing may be performed to contact the luminary/vendorto see if any of the dates and times that the customer is availablematch up with the availability of the luminary/vendor, at 334.Implementations may be configured such that the customer or gifteecannot just specify a time that they want the experience to happen,because the luminary/vendor must also be available for the experience tooccur. If any of the times specified by the customer are acceptable tothe luminary/vendor, then the agreed upon date and time is confirmed andprocessed by the system, at 336. If the luminary/vendor is not availableat any of the times specified by the customer, then implementations mayperform processing to allow the luminary/vendor to enter several datesand times into the system as to when the luminary/vendor is available,at 336.

If, at 324, a background check is required, then the background checkprocessing/processes may be started at 326. This process may beperformed by the processor circuit 201 and/or background check module260 of the system 200. The results of the background check, oncecomplete, may be entered into the system for processing, at 328. Thesystem may then evaluate if scheduling/background check process hadcompleted successfully, at 338. If the celebrity/vendor had not agreedwith the customer available dates, but had specified alternatives, thenthe scheduling problem may be deemed fixable and the system loops backto contact the customer or giftee, this time communicating to thecustomer the alternative times that the vendor is available, as per step302 and onward. It is possible that the customer and luminary/vendorcannot find a mutually agreeable time to schedule, in which case theorder is canceled, at 340. If the background check fails outright, theorder may also be cancelled 340. In some cases, a background check mayend up in a marginal state, that needs further evaluation. In thesecases, various processing may be performed as to how to proceed. Inthese marginal cases, processing might be performed to reach out to thecustomer again 338, 302, e.g. to gather additional information to helpdecide whether to accept or cancel the order. If all the checks passsuccessfully, the scheduling and background check processes are flaggedas complete, at 348, and the process proceeds from step 908, in FIG. 9,to step 912.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart depicting an illustrative process of fulfillmentarchitecture consistent with one or more aspects related to theinnovations herein. This process may be performed by the processorcircuit 201 and/or fulfillment module 270 of the system 200. Throughthis system, fans/users gain access to exclusive content, experiences,and items directly through a celebrity's page, and this system providesa platform for fans/users to complete the transaction. This can includeeverything from finding what they want to purchase, arranging forshipping and billing, and finally paying to complete the transaction allin one centralized place.

Celebrities are looking for new, unimpeded ways to engage their fanbase. Existing social media platforms, such as those on the Internet,are useful for broadcasting comments and promoting appearances, but arenot conducive to interacting with fans/users in a potentially lucrativeway.

Some traditional methods of engaging the fan base and press are also notpopular with celebrities. For example, many celebrities dislike thepress and find promotional tours exhausting. Currently, these mediatours are the best and only way for celebrities to promote themselves asa brand. There are also not easy nor accessible ways to promote as wellas actively sell that brand when a celebrity doesn't have an upcomingfilm or TV show that's worthy of a sponsored junket.

Another problem with fan engagement is that it involves one way fansolicitation of the celebrity. For example, fans/users may have to lineup outside of theaters, send tweets, post social media messages, writefan mail and many other activities in the hope that the celebrity willpick them for an autograph, special connection on social media etc. Assuch, there is a need for systems and methods that offer morepredictable options for fans/users willing to pay to ensure that theyget the attention they crave. Implementations herein provide tools tosupplement and enhance the fan interaction with celebrities with agreater degree of certainty.

Also, current methods of reaching fans/users are limiting forcelebrities. Many don't know that they can provide a meaningfulconnection to fans/users via social media with minimal effort. Examplesof under-utilized tools are video chat, email exchange, micro-bloggingsites, etc. However, in the present implementations, especially whencombined with cloaking devices, the privacy of celebrities can beprotected while their direct interaction with fans/users increases.

There are many other problems with current celebrity marketing. Forexample, for celebrities who aren't as popular, or who have a nichelevel of fame, there are also very few good ways to make money off ofthat fame. For instance, there may a retired sports star might own somemarket-worthy memorabilia but that star may have had a relatively shortathletic career, and may not even have an agent. This can make it hardto find and tap into their existing fan base. Currently, if the athletewants to make money selling their memorabilia, he or she mightparticipate in a convention attended by fans/users. However, thatathlete may have more fans/users dispersed throughout the United Statesor the world, who aren't able to attend such a convention.

Implementations herein utilize online solutions that enable thecelebrity to sell memorabilia online, and reach a wider audience thanoffline. But selling personal memorabilia on a website such as eBay maynot be optimal, and does not necessarily enhance their personal brand orimage. And because celebrities sometimes only sell to niche markets, andbecause they may not have the tools to reach a large number of peoplewithin that market, it's likely that they are not receiving market pricefor their time and/or memorabilia. Systems and methods herein mayincrease and help to set the income they receive from selling thismemorabilia or making personal appearances by streamlining the salesprocess for celebrities, aiding in booking appearances and maintainingcelebrity reputations.

The illustrative flowchart 400 regarding fulfillment architecture ofFIG. 4 shows an example of how items can get fulfilled by the back endsystems. The process of fulfillment may vary as a function of the typeof product and the identity of the entity fulfilling the request. FIG. 4also illustrates exemplary order status IDs that correspond to each stepin the process. Also shown are credit charging steps. In the process,revenue is recognized when the item reaches the shipped step.

For example, each process begins with a checkout in 402. The checkouteither fails, and is cancelled in 404, or succeeds and begins thefulfillment process. If the checkout succeeds, the order is placed andchecked for fraud in 406. If the fraud check passes, the checkoutproceeds to fulfillment ready stage in 408. If the fulfillment readyfails, the order is cancelled in 404. If the fulfillment is deemedready, the order proceeds depending on whether the order was for anexperience or another product.

If the order is for an experience, the process proceeds to charge theuser in 410, for example by charging their credit card. Next, theprescheduled events proceed to pending events, whereas thenon-prescheduled events proceed to a pending schedule and schedulenegotiation until they are successfully schedules. After the pendingevent stage, the system waits for scheduled time/travel if necessary,and then the event happens. When the event has taken place, revenue maybe recognized.

If the order is not for an experience, a determination may be made as towhether the vendor is to fulfill the order or not in 412. If the vendoris to fulfill the order, the next determination is whether the order isfor a physical or digital goods.

If the order is for physical goods, the goods are picked andpersonalized in 420. If there is an issue in personalization (e.g., anorder cannot be personalized as specified), the order goes back to thepicked step until the order is correct and ready to proceed. A qualityassurance (QA) evaluation is performed, and after QA approval, thephysical goods are packed. Then the order price is charged and thecarrier ships the goods. Finally, the shipped goods trigger the systemto recognize revenue.

If the goods are digital, the digital goods are produced in 430, andthen a QA check may be performed on them. If there is an issue, thedigital goods are produced again and QA checks again until the order iscorrect. Once QA approval is obtained, a charge can be issued forpayment. A produced pending stage may follow until a period to wait forscheduled delivery time elapses. After this time, the order is sent orposted. Finally, the shipped goods trigger the system to recognizerevenue.

If the goods to be shipped are not vendor fulfilled in 412, and thegoods are physical, the goods are picked in 440. A QA evaluation mayalso be performed, and if there is an issue, the goods are picked againuntil QA approves. After QA approval, the physical goods are packed.Then the order price is charged and the carrier ships the goods.Finally, the shipped goods trigger the system to recognize revenue.

If the goods to be shipped are not vendor fulfilled in 412, and thegoods are digital, then the digital goods are produced in 450 andchecked by QA. If there is an issue, the digital goods are producedagain until QA approves. Next, if the QA approves, the charges areapplied. The produced goods are then pending and may have to wait for ascheduled time to send/post the goods. Finally, the shipped goodstrigger the system to recognize revenue.

As such, systems and methods herein provide transactions andmonetization for celebrities by providing payment and collectionservices. The fulfillment platform, with certain illustrativefunctionality shown in FIG. 4, allows for order fulfillment for avariety of scenarios including, but not limited to, single orders orlarge group purchases such as a group of friends joining together topurchase a private concert. For a vendor or celebrity using this system,money paid for their services can be available immediately via adashboard interface.

Systems and methods herein may also include different levels of accessfor users, according to some implementations. Exemplary levels mayinclude a fee-based subscription, a set of privileges earned by actionstracked on the site, and various combinations of the two. Between levelsof free membership and all-access paid membership, there may beintermediate levels of membership with varying subscription rates, andcorresponding access to information and opportunities for the fan,according to some embodiments.

Other aspects of systems and methods herein may include transactionalsharing. Implementations may also allow for multiple types of contentsharing and transactions. These include, but are not limited to, theselling of memorabilia and the use of digital/online souvenirs as areceipt and keepsake for individual people such as fans/users,celebrities, donors and collectors, as well as organizations such asstudios, non-profits, companies, brands, and sports teams includingplayers and owners.

Transactions performed via the platforms herein may includepay-for-content/privileges features and implementations. Among otherthings, systems and methods involving pay-for-content/privilegesfunctionality may serve as a publishing platform, aggregation tool,and/or distribution channel enabling celebrities to offer exclusivecontent and a first-look rights on special offers to fans/users for afee. For example, fans/users may subscribe to a famous theme or endeavorchannel (e.g., chefs channel) in order to view a weekly livepoint-of-view broadcast of the activity or event of interest (e.g., chefcooking a particular dish). Other exemplary implementations may includefans or users subscribing to another channel, such as a famoussnowboarder's channel, in order to access an exclusive archive of tricktips and to have the opportunity to buy VIP passes and/ormeet-and-greets with the celebrity before they are made availablethrough other channels.

Systems and methods herein may utilize a central computer basedgraphical user interface dashboard that can inform the fan/subscriber ofupdated digital media content and prices, according to some embodiments.Certain personalized options, for example, may include use of celebrityvideo, including video shot by the celebrity, and/or augmented realitydigital content. Such content may include point-of-view footage.

In some configurations, this content is made exclusive in order to besold to fans or users via a number of different pricing mechanisms.Illustrative pricing mechanisms include, but are not limited by thefollowing examples:

Freemium: non-paying fans/users will still be able to access smallexcerpts of celebrity content, and a limited selection of lo-resolutionphotos; while for a fee based subscription, fans/users are able toaccess more premium, exclusive content including invitations to specialevents and high resolution photos.

Bundle pricing: fans/users are able to choose any number of celebritiesto receive exclusive content from for one price. For example, the fanmay like to follow action stars, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, whosesubscription to their exclusive content runs for $19.99/month, forexample, but they may get themselves a deal by purchasing access toexclusive content for Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Cruise and Vin Dieseltogether for $49.99, for example. Such bundling may also be utilized,e.g., for a fan that wants exclusive access to 8 bands but wants a dealfor bundling them together rather than paying for access to each oneindividually.

Pay-per-view: a subscribed fan may have access to a certain tier ofpersonal celebrity videos from which they may choose for a price;additionally, a fan can buy a subscription for a certain celebrity'scontent, which would then enable them to see a given amount of thatcelebrity's videos, music or other content.

Premiercast: the present systems and methods may provide fans/users theopportunity to receive what is referred to herein as Premiercast, ahigh-concept broadcast feed direct from their celebrity, which they willself-select for free via their membership. One example of suchbroadcasting might include a personalized message from a celebrity,featuring his or her message recorded just yesterday from on the set,etc.

By means of such fulfillment/architecture features in conjunction withinnovative information processing herein, systems and methods hereinprovide fans/users and celebrities with improved ways to connect. Forexample, a fan/consumer can use the platform to verify celebritypresence and participation on the site. Another example may be theability to unite with other platform-based fans/users to create groupofferings for a celebrity, such as asking Jennifer Lopez to perform at alocal party. Still another example may be ensuring that requests forcharity performances are actually delivered, or ensuring that donatedmoneys are funneled to the right charity personnel. Furtherimplementations may process transactions like arranging events such as ameet and greet, having dinner with a celebrity for charity, sending a280-character message of inspiration (or other message) to a celebrity,ordering a birthday voice mail message for one's mom from a favoritecomedienne, purchasing digital souvenirs which include an authenticatedseal such as a digital coin which lets others know a user has had acertain celebrity experience, purchasing a note or a tag from acelebrity for one's social media profile or site, participating in acall or lesson with a hero and commemorating it on a social media site,receiving a personalized video greeting from a celebrity, having a musiclesson from a favorite celebrity, playing an online game with acelebrity, providing more niche or local offerings to local celebs suchas local chefs or sports stars, having celebrities work on projects thatare market-specific, generate reports and analytics for celebritiesabout certain markets, voting on a celebrity and their reputation via aratings system, and participating in a virtual town hall meeting.

Properly handling and processing information to achieve improvedreputation management functionality relates to other facets of thesystem, according to some embodiments. Given that a celebrity'sreputation is directly linked to his/her personal brand, reputationmanagement tools are another resource that agents and public relationspersonnel may find useful. One of these tools may be the platform'sratings system, where fans/users may rate others that they haveinteracted with, as linked to a variety of online services. Indeed, suchfunctionality provides a social incentive for behaving and delivering onpromised goods and services. Systems herein may also be configured topreclude celebrities from interacting with a fan who has a poor onlinereputation.

Another reputational element included in some implementations of theplatform's functionality is turning the system into a game-likeenvironment. Such systems may include game-like incentives such aspoints, medals, trophies, coins and progressive levels to reward usersfor engaging with the site and to keep fans/users returning to interactwith those they want to, on the system platform. These incentives mayalso be displayed on a profile page so fans see which other fans areinteracting with which celebrities and to garner a competitive urge tocollect more incentives.

Charitable giving may also be an aspect of the system platform,according to some embodiments. Many celebrities have charitable causeswith which they are connected. The charities and the celebrities thatsupport them are always looking for ways to increase awareness anddonations. Here, implementations may be configured to allow fans/usersto connect directly to their favorite star's charity in real time, ornear real-time. Further, a suggestion engine may be utilized to promoteoffers to specific users, depending on their chosen interests. Forexample, a fan who loves Betty White, a noted animal activist, mightreceive a message from Ms. White asking for donations to her favoriteshelter. In exchange the fan might receive a digital souvenircommemorating the gift such as a thank you email, from Betty White. Thesystem platform may handle the payment exchange, and support newprojects or charitable causes from Ms. White. Further, charitableopportunities may be directly submitted to celebrities or theirrepresentatives and digitally archived, so that celebrities can accessthis info at any given time.

In another example, present celebrity auctions typically only reach alimited number of off-line fans. However, there may be many more peoplearound the world who would bid on the item when given the opportunityconsistent with the innovations herein, such as via the present network,web and/or online functionality. Thus, currently, such items rarelyreceive full market value bids. Charities may use such opportunity withimplementations herein to become more visible regarding their auctionitems, to maximize the time and the attention of the celebritysupporter. This functionality is particularly helpful to smallercharities that do not have large brand names, but still want the supportof celebrities to endorse their brand, and raise awareness anddonations.

Another problem for charitable organizations is that they can miss outon donated celebrity items in situations where the celebrity must donate100% of the item/experience or nothing at all. Such limitation excludescelebrities and offerings where the celebrity would be willing to donatea material percentage of proceeds but still wants to make some money fortheir effort. Implementations herein are configured to providecustomized relationships of this nature, and via these implementations:(1) celebrities are provided functionality to customize theiropportunities, and (2) more charities receive more attention.

Additionally, celebrities often want to start their own foundations, butneed help with the administrative aspects of running a charity. Thissystem may host an umbrella organization that oversees and administersthe charity on behalf of a celebrity. For instance, someone might beable to donate to System.org/EvaLongoria Foundation. Here, then, thepresent implementations may be used to handle the financial transactionsof such a non-profit project.

This system may also be used as a vehicle for charities to fundraise anddrive traffic. These can be rated in an online rating systems as well.In addition, any non-profits need a consistent cash flow because theymay only have a few big fundraisers per year, thus making their cashflow uneven. Non-profits also need general funds for operations.Implementations herein may also be used as a source for funding generaladministrative and overhead costs, or similar aspects for which it isoften difficult to raise money.

Additionally, charities face challenges regarding distribution. They mayhave an email list and regular supporters, but if they have a celebrityitem to auction off on a visible site, they may be able to reach a muchwider audience in order to maximize bidding.

Systems and methods herein may also archive offers or fan-based ideasfor celebrity performances or work, including a timeline.Implementations herein may be configured to utilize these to providemore niche offerings to local and regional fans/users. Also to offermarket tools for agents and managers. Additionally, as discussed above,to enable charities to smooth out their funding year-round, and stayvisible. Implementations may offer celebrities and their teams aninterface such as a control panel enabling them to post offerings forsale, get alerts for tasks required to fulfill sales, respond to offers,and track the status of their listings. This system can add real-timescheduling, delivery and inventory to transactions for celebrities.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of an example administrative graphical userinterface consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovationsherein. Referring to FIG. 5, a map of an illustrative Graphical UserInterface (GUI) of exemplary vendor administration functionality isshown. For example, the vendor/admin GUI may be generated and/orprocessed by the processor circuit 201 and/or vendor UI module 230 ofsystem 200. The vendor UI module 230 may communicate with the vendorprocessor/fulfillment component 105 to cause the vendorprocessor/fulfillment component 105 to display the vendor/admin GUIand/or receive commands from a user. In the illustrative GUI depicted, a‘to-do’ button 502 may display what the vendor needs to do now. The‘to-dos’ 502/‘current to-dos’ 510 may be the first screen that shows upwhen the vendor logs in. In some implementations, only items that needto be done and can be done now show up on this screen. Items may besorted by priority. Each item type has a custom UI that explains to thevendor the next steps.

The GUI 500 may include a product management button 504, ahistory/reports button 506 an account button 508, and a calendar button512. A list of notifications may also be displayed, for exampleincluding display for the scheduled events happening now section 514,the physical items that need fulfillment now 516, Tweets/Facebook posts518, the scheduled experiences that need a time section 520, the requesta quote section 522, and a messages section 524. The GUI may alsoinclude a fulfillment section 530 and a marketing section 540. Thefulfillment section 530 may include physical items, events, Facebook,and Tweets sections. The marketing section 540 may include Tweets andFacebook sections.

Some examples of the ways a celebrity may use the platform includeallowing a direct conduit to a celebrity for any individual or entity,such as a fan or a movie studio or a partner that wants to provide themwith work or a project, using virtual opportunities to connect withfans/users on social media, and/or enabling a celebrity to better managetheir appointments and career opportunities. With this system, they areable to do as much or as little offered work as they like. They are alsoable to search for types of projects which may be offered.

Additionally, celebrities may manage their own career remunerationwithout paying fees to a middleman. They are also safer in theirpersonal interactions with fans/users, due to cloaking mechanisms. Theymay offer content directly to a celebrity's fan base, thereby bypassingmiddlemen and distribution channels and effecting a grass-roots saleseffort. An example might be a band's pre-selling an album to dedicatedlisteners or fans. Celebrities may take digital control of tracking,publication, and distribution of anything to do with a celebrity's nameor brand. They may publish celebrity content such as direct certainphotos, post on update on a social media site, and share a positivemovie review. Systems and methods are configured such that celebritiesmay steer multiple sites from one control panel and streamline thepublicity process. Implementations may be configured to deliver a wishlist to fans/users or thank you notes to those with whom they haveinteracted. Celebrities may be provided functionality enabling them todonate all or some of the proceeds of a certain concert to charity, andthe giving process can be automated. Systems may also be configured toensure that charity moneys, based on appearances, are delegated to theright personnel, thereby reducing risk of scandal and misappropriation.

As celebrities sometimes have resources at their disposal, this systemcan also feature anyone including lesser known celebrities, which canflatten out the industry's payment curve by enabling many celebrities tobetter find their sales niche. It may also allow fans/users through themiddlemen gatekeepers. Systems and methods herein may initially leverageother people's content and then create their own content. They may alsobe configured to create and/or involve a pay-wall service within analready premium channel.

This system may offer curated and targeted distribution for exclusivecontent, according to some embodiments, for example via the GUI. In somecases this system may offer its own publishing tools. In other cases itmay enable celebrities to use existing publishing platforms and toolssuch as YouTube and Flickr with additional paywall features provided bythis system. For instance, the celebrity publishes a video on YouTubebut adjusts the videos setting so it is only viewable to paying membersof their channel on the present platform. Systems and methods herein maybe configured to do this by marking a celebrity video as private, andembed it behind a paywall, then automatically generate messages tofans/users, who will be enabled to pick their “social circle” of friendsor other fans/users who can pay for this content.

The scarcity of celebrity digital media content can makes it morevaluable and exclusive thus helping maximizing the potential for moremonetization opportunities. This system can provide the ability ofcertain limitations to a given celebrity's digital media content byeither offering it for a limited time, or by limiting the number ofpeople who can download or purchase it. Also as an example, asubscription to certain content can be limited to a fan/user's Facebookfriends, a select ten of whom can be invited to purchase it—such contentmight be a video, a piece of music, an invitation to a meet-up online orspecial event or other forms of exclusive content.

The present content distribution functionality may enable content to beavailable world-wide over a wide area network such as the internet. Tothis effect, this system can create niche site areas for internationalcelebrities, as well as U.S.-based ones.

Systems and methods herein may leverage existing publishing platformsand can publish exclusive content. Fans/users can self-select for freeon this system's publishing platforms, based on their personal “opt in”subscriptions. These include, but are not limited to, social networkingsites such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Wordpress, YouTube, Pinterest,Instagram, Vimeo, and any other publishing platform and each will notifya fan when their chosen celebrity publishes something. Theuser/celebrities can select published content as “Private,” while theyembed or Share their content with this system's platform.

Celebrities can aggregate their exclusive content and create bundles—forexample, $19.95 for three celebrity videos, $29.95 for five. A freepreview of the content can be included on the celebrity's pages.

Systems and methods herein may also provide celebrities with socialmetrics, which will help them know and cultivate their fan bases,according to some embodiments. Implementations of this system alsoprovide celebrities with tools to develop their brand and offerexclusive access to content whether it be for free or for a premiumsubscription model. As systems herein are well-suited for power fans,celebrities may be provided with functionality to involve their fans inobtaining input from them to help determine who will go on tour withthem, or who should co-star in a movie with them, as in prizes orcontests, for example. Further, systems may give power fans first accessto celebrity live performance tickets, as a way to create a continuallymeaningful connection, and an important, continuous feedback loop forcelebrities, according to some embodiments.

Many options may be utilized to connect with fans. Some of those optionsinclude social networking websites such as Facebook, for example.Systems and methods herein may be innovatively utilized with such socialnetworking sites, e.g., by using the Facebook canvas as an iFrame byhaving a DRM player inside of an API component of the system.

Third Party Integration

The system platform may be configured as a stand-alone site, and/or itcan also integrate with third party social network websites and mobileapplications. These configurations allow establishment of userpreferences, such as identifying a user's top celebrity idols or usingthe site's recommendation engine to maximize fan engagement. Therecommendation engine may also integrate information from third partiesand suggest items or donations that a fan is able to purchase or makefrom a celebrity wish list.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram depicting interactions among the elements ofthe systems consistent with one or more aspects related to theinnovations herein. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing how the system mayintegrate with other platforms, including fulfillment and paymentfeatures. As shown, the fan or user may utilize a front end user facinginterface provided by one or more third parties and/or this systemitself. The product type checkout may occur either through this systemor the third party system. The back end system may include theexperience fulfillment components and a database to store the paymentand fulfillment details.

The system connection platform may be a stand-alone website, a socialnetworking site app, or an interface to other third-party social mediaplatforms. Other implementations may be applications such as an HTML 5application, which would provide access to the platform for those whoare not able to download, and have no access to the application.

FIG. 6 provides a high level overview of some illustrative functionalityand architecture of an exemplary system. Product information may bestored in a first database 600 configured to hold product informationand control the front end. This data can be displayed in a variety ofone or more front end components which can be controlled by the firstdatabase 600. Exemplary front end components and their check out modulesmay be different websites 602, 604, 606, 608, co-brandedcomponents/websites 610, 612, 614, 616, and/or front end may include oneor more mobile apps components 618, 620. Each front end can include aproduct selection UI, through which a user may view and/or selectproducts 602, 606, 610, 614, 618. Each front end can also display UIscreens and fields to collect customer information specific to the manyproduct types offered 604, 608, 612, 616, 620. Order data along withfulfillment information can be received via the front end UI by thebackend system 622 and can be stored in a second database 624 configuredto manage order and fulfillment data.

FIG. 7 is another block diagram depicting further interactions among theelements of the systems consistent with one or more aspects related tothe innovations herein. As with FIG. 6, a first database 700 may containproduct information and may provide the product information forprocessing and use by the front end components. Product selection UIfront end components can display product information and receive productselections in 702, 706, 710, 714, 718. Users can view, select, andchoose to purchase products, and the front end can receive customerinformation related to a purchase in 704, 708, 712, 716, 720. The seconddatabase 722 and backend system can receive the customer information viathe front end and manage the order and fulfillment process, at 722. Oncean order is placed, it may be determined whether it is to be fulfilledinternally, at 724. If so, the order may be handled by an internalfulfillment process powered by internal admin UI 726. If not, the ordermay be handled by celebrities/vendors who use the vendor admin UI, at728, which coordinates what things the vendor needs to do to fulfillcustomer orders and when they should be done. As with the customer frontend screens which are customized based on the product type and otherproduct information, the backend systems can process informationdifferently as a function of the type of product being purchased. Afterfulfillment has been processed in 728, a notification 730 is issued toship the order or deliver the experience.

System Processing and Navigation

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram showing how selection of product types andproduct type flags may drive the presentation of the user interfacescreens for ordering, selection, and payment, consistent with certainimplementations herein. These selections can also control the back endfunctionality required for product fulfillment. The architecture allowsnew product types to be created without code changes. Many producttypes, including types that are new to ecommerce/software, aresupported. Each product type has a unique set of fields and UI screensfor a user to complete. Examples of product types may include thefollowing types. A ‘Product Physical’ or ‘Normal Product’ is a normalphysical product (such as a product which may be sold via conventionale-commerce systems). A ‘Facebook Post’ is a Facebook post from acelebrity or vendor which can be purchased. A ‘Twitter Follow’ is aTwitter follow from a celebrity/vendor which can be purchased. A‘Twitter Shout Out’ is a Twitter shout out from a celebrity/vendor whichcan be purchased. A ‘Chat Video’ is an online video chat with acelebrity/vendor which can be purchased. A ‘Chat Phone Call’ is a phonechat with a celebrity/vendor which can be purchased. An ‘Event Physical’is access to an event from a celebrity/vendor that takes place at apreset place and time which can be purchased. A ‘Subscription’ issubscription access to periodic content from a celebrity/vendor whichcan be purchased. A ‘Badge’ is a customized badge from acelebrity/vendor which can be purchased. An ‘Event Preannounce List’ isa special experience from a celebrity/vendor which can be purchased andmay be selected from a list of events. For example, a meet-and-greatwith the celebrity/vendor at any one of the concerts in a musician'sconcert tour may be a product in this category. A ‘Message Video’ is acustom video message from a celebrity/vendor which can be purchased. A‘Meeting Schedulable Digital’ is a digital meeting with thecelebrity/vendor which can be purchased and which may have a time thatis negotiated between the buyer and the celebrity/vendor. A ‘MeetingSchedulable Physical is a physical meeting with the celebrity/vendorwhich can be purchased and which may have a time that is negotiatedbetween the buyer and the celebrity/vendor. A ‘Gift Certificate Digital’is a gift certificate for a digital product or experience such as thosedescribed above, and a ‘Gift Certificate Physical’ is a gift certificatefor a physical product or experience such as those described above.

A product types table 800, which has a record for each product type, maybe included in the system. Implementations herein may utilize UI elementfeatures that present different UI fields and UI screens based on theproduct type of each product. Each product type in the table 800includes product type flag data 802 which can be used to identify theproduct types within the system. Here, for example, variousimplementations and functionality may be achieved by performingprocessing as a function of data fields which represent the product typeflags 802 in the data records/fields of the product types table 800.Also, product type flag field definitions 804 may be provided to definecertain characteristics of each product type. For example, product typesmay be defined as ‘isPhysical’ or ‘isExperience’, indicating whether theproduct is a physical product or an experience, respectively. Producttypes may be defined as having a ‘PresetTime’ or ‘TimeNegotiable’,indicating whether the product (e.g., an experience) has a set time orhas a time that can be agreed upon between the buyer and thecelebrity/vendor. Product types may be defined as locationNegotiable′,indicating whether the product (e.g., an experience) has a location thatcan be agreed upon between the buyer and the celebrity/vendor. Producttypes may also be defined as ‘ContactInfoNeeded’, ‘FacebookIdNeeded’,‘TwitterHandleNeeded’, ‘RecipientNameNeeded’, and/or ‘CommentNeeded’,indicating whether certain information such as contact, Facebook,Twitter, name, or comment information is required from the buyer inorder to complete the product transaction. One example involving a SQLrealization of product types table functionality is set forth inAppendix A.

In addition, other customization functionality may be controlled byproduct flags 806 in the product types table 800 for each product. Forexample, an ‘isPersonalized’ flag may indicate that the product ispersonalized to the buyer. ‘BackgroundCheckRequired’ and/or‘AgeVerificationRequired’ flags may indicate that additional informationabout the user (i.e., a background check or an age verification) isrequired to complete the product transaction. In addition, furthercustomization functionality may be driven by the order flags fields 808,which are fields specific to each individual purchase of a product. Forexample, an ‘isGift’ flag may indicate that the product was purchased bythe buyer as a gift for another party. One example involving the flagsin the product types table is set forth in Appendix B.

When a product types table 800 has been generated, including some or allof the data described above, it can be used in ordering celebrityproducts. For example, the product checkout screens described in thecontext of FIG. 7 above can present a variety of UI screens to a user.Note that the following sequence is an example only, as other sequencesof UI screens consistent with the innovations herein may be displayed toa user in the process of placing an order; UI screens may be option orrequired. In the example of FIG. 8, a UI screen A with variable fieldsis presented in 810. This screen presents options for a user to select,such as the type of product to be purchased. Depending on which optionsare selected, the system can present another optional UI screen B in 812or a required UI screen X in 814. For example, screen B can presentoptional fields associated with the choice received via screen A. Oncethe fields in screen B have been entered, the system can proceed to therequired UI screen X in 814. Likewise, depending on what is received viascreen X, the system can display optional UI screen C 816 or required UIscreen Y 818. After all required fields (and/or optional fields) havebeen displayed and data has been received, the order is placed in 820.

FIGS. 3 and 9 are exemplary flow diagrams of illustrative orderplacement and customer information processing functionality,respectively, consistent with one or more aspects related to theinnovations herein. These diagrams provide an illustrative overview ofhow products with an experience product type may get processed by theback-end, after purchase. While back-end systems and methods may behavesimilarly to conventional ecommerce back-ends when processingconventional products, implementations herein may possess various novelfunctionality involved with efficiently handle experience product types.With regard to making an experience happen, multiple people must bebrought together in the same place at the same time. Multiple people areinvolved and difficult to schedule a time and place that works for allinvolved. Determining, coordinating and communicating all the details ofthe logistics required for an experience is too time-consuming anderror-prone without solutions such as those provided via the systems andmethods herein. Among other things, implementations herein enablefulfillment of many experience orders simultaneously, with variousinnovative processing, and without losing track of any details. Suchimplementations provide features and functionality that are essential toproviding a good experience for the buyers and sellers involved, whileaccomplishing objectives at a low cost to provide better value tocustomers while still maintaining suitable/sensible profit margins.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart depicting an example of order placementconsistent with one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.FIG. 9 provides one illustrative high level overview of a back-endfulfillment process for experiences. This process may be performed bythe processor circuit 201 and/or experience module 220 of the system200. The illustrative backend processing of an order shown here beginswhen the order is successfully placed on the front end by a customer, at902. In some cases, a purchase is made as gift 904, in which case thepurchaser is not buying the experience for themselves, but instead isgiving it as a gift to another person. The recipient will receive a GiftTicket in this case, at 906. If the gift case, the customer may becharged immediately after the Gift Ticket is sent, at 910, which isearlier in the fulfillment process than charging sometimes occurs in thenon-gift case.

As a next step in this illustrative fulfillment process, at 908, one ormore information gathering processes may be performed, e.g., to makesure all the necessary information has been gathered from the customeror the gift recipient, such as information to schedule the experienceand/or do a background check if necessary. Exemplary details of what mayoccur during an illustrative information gathering process 908 are setforth in connection with FIG. 3. If this processing fails, the order maybe canceled, at 914. After a successfully completed background checkand/or scheduling processes, at 912, payment may be effected, e.g., thecustomer's credit card may be charged (settled) to collect the revenuefor experiences. Here, the credit card may have been previously beenauthorized for the amount of the purchase, so unless the authorizationhad expired, the credit card charge/settle will succeed. If the originalauthorization has expired, and the credit card was not able to beauthorized again, then the order may be cancelled 914 at this point dueto the inability to collect payment. If the money was successfullycollected, an event summary email may then be sent, at 916, summarizingwhat will happen and when. If the experience is not a gift, anexperience memento ticket may be sent to the buyer, at 918.

After such optional processing is performed, final logistics such asfinal location logistics may be determined and entered into the system,at 920. In some cases, for example, the experience may happen at alocation selected by the customer or giftee. In other cases, it willhappen at the location chosen by the luminary/vendor. In either case,the final logistics information will be entered into the system, so theycan be communicated to the customer and/or the celebrity/vendor, as insteps 922-934, via various email or other communication(s) such as thefollowing.

For example, implementations herein may send out up to two additionalreminder emails, the first of which will be sent at a first predetermined time value before the experience, at 926. For example, thefirst predetermined time value may be a day, a week, a month, or anyother time. If there is greater than the first pre determined time valueuntil the experience, the system may wait until there is an amount oftime equal to the first pre determined time value before the experienceto send the reminder/logistics email, at 924. Another reminder/logisticsemail may be sent closer in time, as well, such as at a second predetermined time value, less than the first predetermined time value,before the experience, 928, 930, 932, unless there is not more than anamount of time equal to the second pre determined time value before theexperience. Finally, the experience that the customer purchased occurs,934, and the presently described, illustrative experience fulfillmentprocess is complete.

Celebrations Example

FIG. 10 is an illustration of exemplary shopping cart/ordering pages,consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.Items 1010 added to the Shopping Cart will display in the order theywere added, and remain for X days. Some items allow users to updatequantities from here, and some only allow a single purchase (e.g.Twitter or Facebook items.) The user can select the “x” next to aproduct and it will be dynamically removed from the order summary. Ifthe user updates the quantity the page will auto-refresh and display theupdates quantity, and the updated order total automatically. Users mayselect “Check Out” button 1012 in order to complete the order. A “NeedHelp” module 1014 will display FAQs and the support email address. Thismay be static content added by the editor. A “Continue Shopping” button1016 may be included to take the user to the page previously viewed whenthe Shopping Cart was accessed. A shipping estimator 1018 will allow theuser to enter her zip code, select the shipping speed and view theshipping costs she will expect to pay based on what is currently in hercart. The shipping charge may be dynamically displayed in the module andin the Order Summary module. A Check Out button may take the user intothe Checkout Flow/Shipping page, as shown and described herein.

FIG. 11 is an illustration of exemplary checkout/shipping pages,consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.Referring to the illustrative shipping page of FIG. 11, a user may entertheir zip code here and the related city(s) will appear in a drop-downmenu for the user to confirm city name dynamically. “United States” (orother related country or US territory) will be displayed based on zipcode entered as well. The Order Total 1112 will dynamically update toreflect in shipping charges. The shopping cart contents 1114 will beviewable in this space on every page of the Shopping Cart pages. Theuser can click “Edit Cart” button 1116 at any time to return to the cartto update product quantities or remove or add a product. Functionsassociated with checkout processing may be performed by the processorcircuit 201 and/or checkout module 240 of the system 200.

FIG. 12 is an illustration of exemplary billing/purchasing pages,consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.Referring to the illustrative billing page of FIG. 12, the user canclick the “Edit” button 1210 and return to the “Shipping” page to changethe shipping contact details. The user can update the shipping speed atany time by selecting it in the dropdown menu. This will dynamicallyupdate the Order Total module in the in the upper left corner. The usercan select “Pay with PayPal Account” 1212 and be directed off theCelebrations site to the PayPal page associated with this account (notethat any number of online payment systems could be used in place ofPayPal). Once fulfillment has been made, the user will be automaticallydirected back to this page to complete the purchase path, and PayPalwill be in a selected state. The user can select “Pay by Credit Card”1214 and the page will dynamically expose all the relevant form fieldsfor the user to complete a credit card transaction. As shown in FIG. 12,if the user selects “Pay by Credit Card” the page would automaticallydisplay relevant credit card authorization fields.

FIG. 13 is an illustration of further exemplary billing/purchasingpages, consistent with one or more aspects related to the presentinnovations. In the illustrative billing page of FIG. 13, for example,the user may enter information into all the required fields in order topurchase 1310. On click of the “Continue” button 1312, the credit cardwill be checked for fraud or incorrect entries, and return errorsassociated with them, as shown in the drawings. The selected paymentmethod may be displayed in this module as shown. The user click on the“Edit” button in order to return to the Billing Page to change themethod. The user can create an account at the end, if an account has notyet been made. For users that have already created an account, allfields will be prefilled, and password/confirm password fields showing“*****” to mask the password. The “Send Me Email Updates” checkbox willbe pre-selected. The user can bypass creating an account and go directlyto the Confirm Order page.

FIG. 14 is an illustration of exemplary purchase finalization pages,consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.Referring to FIG. 14, user billing information 1410 may be displayedfrom the previous input. The Account information area 1412 allows usersto sign up for an account if they have not previously, or select “NoThanks” button 1414 to merely complete the transaction without signingup. The “Complete Purchase” button 1416 will submit the purchase andreturn a confirmation message to the user when the transaction has beenmade.

FIG. 15 is an illustration of exemplary confirmation pages, consistentwith one or more aspects related to the innovations herein. Here, suchconfirmation page confirms the order, and may provide an order number1510 and a link back to the Landing Page for this Celebrations site, asshown in FIG. 15.

FIG. 16 is an illustration of exemplary pages consistent with aspects ofthe innovations herein. While the application could be integrated withany number of social media sites, this example illustrates anintegration with the Facebook social media site. The social mediaprocesses described with respect to FIG. 16 may be performed by theprocessor circuit 201 and/or social media UI module 210 of the system200. In this example, run via Facebook system processing, the pageallows users to click the Celebrate With Me button 1620. Theidentification area 1622 may then describe the celebrity and advertisethe Celebration. An example experience, here “let's have lunch” 1624 ishighlighted. The user may inquire more about this experience by clickingon it or hovering over it. The pop-up window 1626 can show more detailsabout the experience and allow the user to “Buy it Now.” Further, theuser may click the button to “Learn More” 1628 in order to learn moredetails. In FIG. 16, the user can click the “Buy Now” button 1626 and godirectly to the permissions step, then to the Celebrations Product Pageassociated with that button.

FIG. 17 is an illustration of an exemplary landing page, consistent withone or more aspects related to the innovations herein. In this example,the landing page is displayed to a user who is not logged in to thesystem, but information similar to that presented in this example mayalso be presented to a user in other contexts. While the applicationcould be integrated with any number of social media sites, this exampleillustrates an integration with the Facebook social media site. In thisexample, e.g. run via Facebook system processing, the Celebrations AppCanvas page 1720 will provide the user with an overview of theCelebrity's Celebrations offerings. This canvas space may give thesocial networking site user a destination to visit while within thesocial networking site, and a starting point into the externalexperience via the “Connect with Facebook” button and “Connect to seethe price” links. The user may click the “Connect with Facebook” or the“Connect to see the price” links in order to access the Celebrationsexternal site. This will launch the Facebook Permissions window in theFacebook example, then take the user into the Celebrations site onceFacebook Permissions have been granted. High level overview of all thecurrent offerings available on the Celebrations web site for thiscelebrity may be provided in this space 1722. The design may allow fortext updates as the celebrity's offerings change. The user may havesecondary calls-to-action in this interface (e.g., “Connect to see theprice”) that may also launch the Facebook Permissions window, then takethe user into the Celebrations site once Facebook Permissions have beengranted. A charity tied to the celebrity's Celebrations program may befeatured in this space 1724 if the celebrity's product is associatedwith a charity. The charity's logo and the “learn more” link may bothopen in a separate browser window when clicked, and may display thecharity's “About Us” page on their web site. The footer links 1726 maytake the user to the related page on an external Celebrationsnon-authenticated site if the user clicks on Terms and Conditions,Privacy Policy or About Us links. In other embodiments, some or all ofthe external features may be included within the social networking app,so that a user's interaction with the links/buttons may cause new datato be displayed within the social networking site itself.

FIG. 18 is an illustration of an exemplary landing page, to enable usersto harness the power of social media with the experience fulfillmentsystem, consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovationsherein. In this example, the landing page is displayed to a user who isnot logged in to the system, but information similar to that presentedin this example may also be presented to a user in other contexts. Whilethe application could be integrated with any number of social mediasites, this example illustrates an integration with the Facebook socialmedia site. In this example, the Global Navigation bar 1820 may displaya welcome message if a user accesses the site and is not recognized. Theuser may not be able to see prices of any items or buy anything untilshe clicks the “Connect with Facebook” button. Log in may prompt theuser to use Facebook Connect to log in again from here or enter an emailaddress and password used when requesting an invite. The user can alsoclick on the “Connect with Facebook” button to log in. The system maythen bypass the Accept Permissions window and refresh the site with thesigned-in state if a user has previously granted Facebook Permissionsfor this site. Users can also access prices and buy items by clickingthe “request an invitation” link 1822. The “Connect with Facebook”button may present the Accept Permissions window, and the “request aninvitation” link may present the “Request an Invitation” pop-overwindow. Each item for sale may display information which may enable auser to learn more about the item, for example its title, shortdescription, and “Connect to see Price” link 1824 in place of the price.The user may be required to click “Connect with Facebook” or create apassword from an email invite in order to see the price. The buttonimage and the item title may both link to the corresponding ProductDetail Page, which may be an external page in some embodiments or aninternal part of the social media app in other embodiments.

FIG. 19 is an illustration of an exemplary social media site permissionspage, consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovationsherein. While the application could be integrated with any number ofsocial media sites, this example illustrates an integration with theFacebook social media site. In this example, all users that click on the“Connect with Facebook” or “Buy Now” button or the “Connect to seePrice” link may be required to accept Facebook Permissions, shown inthis space 1920, to visit the Celebrations site and purchase items, viathe “Allow” button. On click, the system may store the user's FacebookID and all public data. Post on your behalf 1922 can be turned off byusers, but if it is not then the app can post to a user's Facebooktimeline. Notifications and posts to an authenticated user's Facebooktimeline could include, for example, the following triggers: NEWITEM—“[celebrity name] just added something new to his/her Celebrationssite. Visit [celebrity name] Celebrations.”; FRIEND PURCHASE—“[Friendname] just purchased something from the [celebrity name] Celebrationssite. Visit [celebrity name] Celebrations.”; PROMOTIONAL ITEM—“[productname] is now available on the celebrity name] Celebrations site. Howmuch would you spend to own it?”; LIMITED QUANTITIES—“Only [x] moreavailable of [product name] [celebrity name.] Buy it now on [celebrityname] Celebrations.”

FIG. 20 is an illustration of an exemplary landing page, consistent withone or more aspects related to the innovations herein. In this example,the landing page is displayed to a user who is not logged in to thesystem, but information similar to that presented in this example mayalso be presented to a user in other contexts. While the applicationcould be integrated with any number of social media sites, this exampleillustrates an integration with the Facebook social media site. In thisexample, once the user's permissions have been granted, he or she willbe recognized with their first name 2020 pulled from their Facebookprofile. Each item for sale may display its button background shape,title, short description, and price 2022. The button image, item titleand “learn more” link may all link to the Product Detail Page, which maybe an external page in some embodiments or an internal part of thesocial media app in other embodiments. A How this Works section 2024 maydescribe to the user the steps of the transaction. The Charity's logo2026 and “learn more” link may all take the user to the related page onthe Charity's own web site, popped up in a separate browser window. Thefooter links 2028 may be accessible to signed-in and unrecognized users;clicking any of them will take the user to the respective page in thesame browser window. In other embodiments, some or all of the externalfeatures may be included within the social networking app, so that auser's interaction with the links/buttons may cause new data to bedisplayed within the social networking site itself.

Overall, one illustrative implementation encompassing an array of theabove features may be characterized as a system for processing datacomprising a processor circuit; a fulfillment module in communicationwith the processor circuit, the fulfillment module configured to processinformation to perform a checkout of a product, the product comprisingan experience, a physical product, and/or a digital product; when theproduct comprises the experience, receive a notification that theexperience has taken place and indicate that the product has beenfulfilled; when the product comprises the physical product and/or thedigital product, determine whether the product will be fulfilled by avendor or by the fulfillment module and receive a notification that theproduct has been fulfilled; when the product will be fulfilled by thevendor, send information associated with the product to the vendor; andwhen the product will be fulfilled by the fulfillment module, fulfillthe product; an experience module in communication with the processorcircuit, the experience module configured to schedule a time and/orplace at which the experience will take place; and a checkout module incommunication with the processor circuit, the checkout module configuredto process a charge associated with the product after the product hasbeen fulfilled.

Further Implementations and Nuances

Systems and methods herein implemented via stand-alone webpageconfiguration(s) may not be appropriate for all celebrities. In thesecases, implementations may be configured to produce a white-labelversion of the platform. For example, celebrity may have a large fanbase, but may also need assistance in order to maintain and not damagetheir brand. Conversely, systems and methods may also be configurable tocreate custom platforms and functionality for other celebrities such asa George Clooney or Angelina Jolie.

The innovations herein may be implemented via one or more components,circuits, systems, servers, appliances, other subcomponents, ordistributed between such elements. When implemented as a system, suchsystems may include an/or involve, inter alia, components such assoftware modules, general-purpose CPU, RAM, etc. found ingeneral-purpose computers, and/or FPGAs and/or ASICs found in morespecialized computing devices. In implementations where the innovationsreside on a server, such a server may include or involve components suchas CPU, RAM, etc., such as those found in general-purpose computers.

Additionally, the innovations herein may be achieved via implementationswith disparate or entirely different software, hardware and/or firmwarecomponents, beyond that set forth above. With regard to such othercomponents (e.g., software, processing components, etc.) and/orcomputer-readable media associated with or embodying the presentinventions, for example, aspects of the innovations herein may beimplemented consistent with numerous general purpose or special purposecomputing systems or configurations. Various exemplary computingsystems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable foruse with the innovations herein may include, but are not limited to:software or other components within or embodied on personal computers,servers or server computing devices such as routing/connectivitycomponents, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, consumer electronicdevices, network PCs, other existing computer platforms, distributedcomputing environments that include one or more of the above systems ordevices, etc.

In some instances, aspects of the innovations herein may be achieved viaor performed by logic and/or logic instructions including programmodules, executed in association with such components or circuitry, forexample. In general, program modules may include routines, programs,objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasksor implement particular instructions herein. The inventions may also bepracticed in the context of distributed software, computer, or circuitsettings where circuitry is connected via communication buses, circuitryor links. In distributed settings, control/instructions may occur fromboth local and remote computer storage media including memory storagedevices.

Innovative software, circuitry and components herein may also includeand/or utilize one or more type of computer readable media. Computerreadable media can be any available media that is resident on,associable with, or can be accessed by such circuits and/or computingcomponents. By way of example, and not limitation, computer readablemedia may comprise computer storage media and communication media.Computer storage media includes volatile and nonvolatile, removable andnon-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storageof information such as computer readable instructions, data structures,program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but isnot limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memorytechnology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other opticalstorage, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storagedevices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desiredinformation and can accessed by computing component. Communication mediamay comprise computer readable instructions, data structures, programmodules and/or other components. Further, communication media mayinclude wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection,however no media of any such type herein includes transitory media.Combinations of the any of the above are also included within the scopeof computer readable media.

In the present description, the terms component, module, device, etc.may refer to any type of logical or functional software elements,circuits, blocks and/or processes that may be implemented in a varietyof ways. For example, the functions of various circuits and/or blockscan be combined with one another into any other number of modules. Eachmodule may even be implemented as a software program stored on atangible memory (e.g., random access memory, read only memory, CD-ROMmemory, hard disk drive, etc.) to be read by a central processing unitto implement the functions of the innovations herein. Or, the modulescan comprise programming instructions transmitted to a general purposecomputer or to processing/graphics hardware via a transmission carrierwave. Also, the modules can be implemented as hardware logic circuitryimplementing the functions encompassed by the innovations herein.Finally, the modules can be implemented using special purposeinstructions (SIMD instructions), field programmable logic arrays or anymix thereof which provides the desired level performance and cost.

As disclosed herein, features consistent with the present inventions maybe implemented via computer-hardware, software and/or firmware. Forexample, the systems and methods disclosed herein may be embodied invarious forms including, for example, a data processor, such as acomputer that also includes a database, digital electronic circuitry,firmware, software, or in combinations of them. Further, while some ofthe disclosed implementations describe specific hardware components,systems and methods consistent with the innovations herein may beimplemented with any combination of hardware, software and/or firmware.Moreover, the above-noted features and other aspects and principles ofthe innovations herein may be implemented in various environments. Suchenvironments and related applications may be specially constructed forperforming the various routines, processes and/or operations accordingto the invention or they may include a general-purpose computer orcomputing platform selectively activated or reconfigured by code toprovide the necessary functionality. The processes disclosed herein arenot inherently related to any particular computer, network,architecture, environment, or other apparatus, and may be implemented bya suitable combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. Forexample, various general-purpose machines may be used with programswritten in accordance with teachings of the invention, or it may be moreconvenient to construct a specialized apparatus or system to perform therequired methods and techniques.

Aspects of the method and system described herein, such as the logic,may also be implemented as functionality programmed into any of avariety of circuitry, including programmable logic devices (“PLDs”),such as field programmable gate arrays (“FPGAs”), programmable arraylogic (“PAL”) devices, electrically programmable logic and memorydevices and standard cell-based devices, as well as application specificintegrated circuits. Some other possibilities for implementing aspectsinclude: memory devices, microcontrollers with memory (such as EEPROM),embedded microprocessors, firmware, software, etc. Furthermore, aspectsmay be embodied in microprocessors having software-based circuitemulation, discrete logic (sequential and combinatorial), customdevices, fuzzy (neural) logic, quantum devices, and hybrids of any ofthe above device types. The underlying device technologies may beprovided in a variety of component types, e.g., metal-oxidesemiconductor field-effect transistor (“MOSFET”) technologies likecomplementary metal-oxide semiconductor (“CMOS”), bipolar technologieslike emitter-coupled logic (“ECL”), polymer technologies (e.g.,silicon-conjugated polymer and metal-conjugated polymer-metalstructures), mixed analog and digital, and so on.

It should also be noted that the various logic and/or functionsdisclosed herein may be enabled using any number of combinations ofhardware, firmware, and/or as data and/or instructions embodied invarious machine-readable or computer-readable media, in terms of theirbehavioral, register transfer, logic component, and/or othercharacteristics. Computer-readable media in which such formatted dataand/or instructions may be embodied include, but are not limited to,non-volatile storage media in various forms (e.g., optical, magnetic orsemiconductor storage media) though again does not include transitorymedia. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout thedescription, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and the like are to beconstrued in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustivesense; that is to say, in a sense of “including, but not limited to.”Words using the singular or plural number also include the plural orsingular number respectively. Additionally, the words “herein,”“hereunder,” “above,” “below,” and words of similar import refer to thisapplication as a whole and not to any particular portions of thisapplication. When the word “or” is used in reference to a list of two ormore items, that word covers all of the following interpretations of theword: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list and anycombination of the items in the list.

Although certain presently preferred implementations of the inventionhave been specifically described herein, it will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art to which the invention pertains that variations andmodifications of the various implementations shown and described hereinmay be made without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention be limitedonly to the extent required by the applicable rules of law.

APPENDIX A ProductTypes SELECT ‘ProductTypes’ AS ACTION; DROP TABLE IFEXISTS ProductTypes; CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS ProductTypes(    productTypeId     SMALLINT NOT NULL auto_increment,    productTypeName     varchar(75),     uiGroup        varchar(20),    physical   boolean not null default 0,  -- physical real world itemor in person event(if false is digital item or event than can betransfered electronically)     experience   boolean not null default0,  -- experience that happens in real time (physical or digital)    personalized   boolean not null default 0,   -- this item can bepersonalized, so need to ask user for personalization info when buying    usePresetEventTime  boolean not null default 0,  -- if - true, useproducts.eventTime     produceByScheduleTime   boolean not null default0, -- if true, use orderItemInfos.scheduleTime as the time the itemneeds to be produced by        -- as long as the item is produced beforethis time, all is well     negotiateScheduleTime  boolean not nulldefault 0,  -- if true, - use orderItemInfos.scheduleTime to store theresult of the scheduling process     allowVendorEntry boolean not nulldefault 0,  -- celebrity/vendors can enter products of this type    negotiableLocation   boolean not null default 0,   -- if - falsemeans fixed location     bestContactInfoNeeded  boolean not null default 0,  - - if true, means ask for Best Phone number, best email toreach you AFTER CHECKOUT     occasionBeforeCheckoutNeeded  boolean notnull  default 0,  - - if true, ask for occassion before checkout   occasionAfterCheckoutNeeded  boolean not null  default 0,  - - iftrue, ask for occasion after checkout     facebookIdNeeded boolean notnull default 0,  -- if true, will ask for facebook ID of the user orobtionally from the users list of friends     twitterHandleNeeded boolean not null  default 0,  -- if true, will ask for the Twitterhandle from the user     nameNeeded  boolean not null  default 0,  - -ask for the users name     commentBeforeCheckoutNeeded  boolean not null default 0,  -- Must add comments before checkout    commentAfterCheckoutNeeded  boolean not null  default 0,  -- Mustadd comments after checkout     eventTypeAfterCheckoutNeeded  booleannot null  default 0,  -- ask for event type after checkout    infoBeforeCheckoutNeeded boolean not null default 0,  -- ask frominfo before checkout     nameAfterCheckoutNeeded  boolean not null default 0,  - - ask for the users name after checkout    recipientEmailNeeded boolean not null default 0,  -- ask forrecipient Email before checkout     primary key(productTypeId),    index(uiGroup) ) ENGINE = InnoDB;

APPENDIX B Flags in productTypes table replace into producttypes values(1, ‘Product Physical’, “G2”,                1,0,0,0,0, 0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0, 0,0); replace into producttypes values (2, ‘FacebookPost’, “G1”,                0,0,1,0,1, 0,1,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0,0,0, 0,0);replace into producttypes values (3, ‘Twitter Follow’, “G1”,               0,0,1,0,1, 0,1,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0,0,0, 0,0); replace intoproducttypes values (4, ‘Twitter Shout Out’, “G1”,               0,0,1,0,1, 0,1,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0,0,0, 0,0); replace intoproducttypes values (5, ‘Chat Video’, “G1”,               0,1,1,0,0, 1,1,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0,0,0, 0,0); replace intoproducttypes values (6, ‘Chat Phone Call’, “G1”,               0,1,1,0,0, 1,1,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0,0,0, 0,0); replace intoproducttypes values (7, ‘Event Physical’, “G1”,               1,1,0,1,0, 0,0,0,1,0,0, 0,0,0,0,0, 0,0);       -- this isa celebrity happening that has a predefined date, time, and locationreplace into producttypes values (8, ‘Subscription’, “G1”,               0,0,1,1,0, 0,0,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0,0,0, 0,0); replace intoproducttypes values (9, ‘Badge’, “G1”,                   0,0,1,0,1, 0,0,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0,0,0, 0,0); replace intoproducttypes values (10, ‘Event Pre-announce List’,“G1”,                0,0,0,1,0, 0,0,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0,0,0, 0,0); replaceinto producttypes values (11, ‘Message Video’, “G1”,                   0,0,1,0,1, 0,1,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0,0,0, 0,0); replace intoproducttypes values (12, ‘Meeting Scheduleable Digital’,“G1”,              0,1,1,0,0, 1,0,0,1,1,0, 0,0,0,0,0, 0,0);       --this is a digital happening where the date, time and location isnegotiable and can be changed replace into producttypes values (13,‘Meeting Scheduleable Physical’, “G1”,              1,1,1,0,0,1,0,0,1,1,0, 0,0,0,0,0, 0,0);       -- this is a digital happening wherethe date, time is negotiable and can be changed, the location is fixedreplace into producttypes values (14, ‘Event Digital’, “G1”,               0,1,0,1,0, 0,0,0,1,0,0, 0,0,0,0,0, 0,0); -- this is acelebrity happening that has a predefined date, time, and locationreplace into producttypes values (15, ‘Gift Certificate Digital’,“G1”,                0,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0,0,0, 0,0); replaceinto producttypes values (16, ‘Gift Certificate Physical’,“G1”,                1,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0,0,0, 0,0); replaceinto producttypes values (17, ‘Meeting Scheduleable Physical Locationnegotiable’, “G1”,   1,1,1,0,0, 1,0,1,1,1,0, 0,0,0,0,0, 0,0);       -- 1this is a digital happening where the date, time, and LOCATION isnegotiable and can be changed replace into producttypes values (18,‘Product Physical Personalized’,“G2”,           1,0,1,0,0, 0,1,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0,0,0, 0,0);

1.-49. (canceled)
 50. A method of processing data, the methodcomprising: providing a fulfillment module as an intermediary between afront-end module and a back-end module; processing a commercialtransaction of a purchased product with at least one individual havingmarketable public recognition by the fulfillment module that ispurchased on the front-end module with proceeds processed via theback-end module.
 51. The method according to claim 50, wherein thefront-end module comprises a website, a social media application, and/ora mobile application; and the back-end module comprises a vendor. 52.The method according to claim 50, further comprising: selecting, via thebackend module, the purchased product from among a plurality ofavailable products; receiving, via the backend module, approval of theselected product; and sending, via the backend module, the selectedproduct.
 53. The method according to claim 50, wherein when thepurchased product is a physical product, shipping the purchased product;and when the purchased product is a digital product, processinginformation regarding transmission of the purchased product to a remotecomputer.
 54. The method according to claim 50, further comprising:determining whether the purchased product will be fulfilled by a vendoror by the back-end module and/or the fulfilling the purchased productcomprise accessing data in a back-end database in communication with theback-end module. 55.-117. (canceled)
 118. The method according to claim50, wherein the fulfillment module disperses a payment associated withthe proceeds to at least one of the individual, a vendor, and acharitable organization.
 118. The method according to claim 50 furthercomprising performing computerized information processing regardingmanaging fulfillment of the purchased product via the fulfillmentmodule.
 119. The method according to claim 118, wherein the managing thefulfillment comprises: processing data regarding provision of GUIinformation for selection of the purchased product from among aplurality of available products; receiving information regardingapproval of the selected product; and processing information regardingtransmission of the selected product.
 120. The method according to claim118, wherein the managing the fulfillment comprises: determining, viathe fulfillment module, whether the purchased product is prescheduled;when the purchased product is prescheduled, setting, via the fulfillmentmodule, the time and/or place as a prescheduled time and/or place; andwhen the purchased product is not prescheduled, receiving, via thefulfillment module, a negotiated time and/or place from a user andsetting, via the fulfillment module, the time and/or place as thenegotiated time and/or place.
 121. The method according to claim 50,wherein the purchased product is associated with product data comprisingone or more of a plurality of product types, one or more of a pluralityof product type flags which describe one or more of the plurality ofproduct types, and one or more of a plurality of product type flag fielddefinitions which define a characteristic of one or more of theplurality of product type flags.
 122. The method according to claim 50,wherein the purchased product is personalized to a purchaser.
 123. Themethod according to claim 50, wherein the fulfillment module managesprivacy of the individual in executing the transaction and/orfulfillment of the purchased product.
 124. The method according to claim50, wherein the fulfillment module schedules execution of the purchasedproduct.